Mazda Problems

I ASSUME you bought the car new, not used; if you did buy it used the damage could have been caused before you bought it. If you have owned it from new and haven't hit anything as you claim, I do think it's unfair you had to pay. Mazda has given you the standard deal for a car that's out of warranty, so they've come to the party by covering half the cost of repairs, but I agree that in this case it isn't enough. No one should have to pay even part of the repair cost for something that shouldn't happen in the first place.

WE CONTACTED Mazda for its input and the response was: ``We've had no reports of a fault or recurring weakness with the Mazda Tribute's transfer case or transmission. One of the great features of the Mazda Tribute is the ability for drivers to conveniently lock the transfer case in 4WD at the push of a button mounted on the dashboard. The unfortunate thing is that, if the driver forgets to disengage 4WD when rejoining the bitumen, transfer case `wind-up' can occur. This places stress on the transfer case and may lead to a weakness or failure in the transfer case's internals. Unfortunately there's no way to tell if this occurred in the moments before your reader reported the knocking noise, or some years back in the hands of the previous owner.'' This probably doesn't help, but it may be an explanation and your 2004 model car is out of warranty.

IT'S certainly an option. If you bought a two or three-year-old Falcon for $15,000 and installed a gas-injection system you would have $19,000 or so invested in it, against the cost of the Corolla or Mazda. The cost of running the Falcon on gas would be a little less than the cost of running the small car so I would believe you would be in front. Think also of buying a used E-Gas Falcon, which might be an even better bet.

THERE are kits available for the Mazda Tribute. Visit www.lpgautogas.com.au website or phone system developers like Australian LPG Warehouse.

MANY owners are unhappy with the fuel economy of their Tributes. LPG kits are available and cost about $4500. With the government rebate you would recover the outlay in two years driving 15,000km a year.

USE 91 octane when you need to, the Mazda won't suffer any damage, but you might notice a difference in performance and fuel economy.

BUYING used is not going to cost you as much as buying new, but you need to know about cars or have the help of someone who does. Otherwise, buy new and get the security of a warranty. The new car will also be safer. Generally they have more safety features built into them and will probably use less fuel than an older car. Look at the Mazda 2, Toyota Yaris, Nissan Tiida, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Getz and VW Polo.

FIRST you should read your insurance policy to see exactly what you are entitled to. The insurance company must return the car to the condition it was in before the crash, and that was virtually new condition. You can't second-guess the quality of the work that will be done, so you either have to let the repairs go ahead, then address anything that isn't up to your standard. Perhaps you could negotiate to buy the damaged car and have it repaired by a repairer of your choosing.

I agree with Mazda. It's a function of the high idle speed during the cold phase. I wouldn't worry about it and I wouldn't sit for two minutes on a cold morning so I can engage reverse.

WE HAD lots of correspondence regarding the oil-level question and most were similar to yours, which is the correct explanation. It always pays to remove and wipe the dipstick before checking the oil level anyway, and that would eliminate the incorrect reading our reader was concerned about.